'''Anórien''' ([[Sindarin|S.]] 'Sun-land'; [[anor]] = sun, -ien = place name suffix), is a region and fiefdom of [[Gondor]], called [[Sunlending]] by the [[Rohirrim]]. The name does not refer to the West but is 'heraldic', related to the name and the emblem of [[Anárion]], son of [[Elendil]]: the land is immediately attached to the [[Minas Anor]] (see [[Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings|<i>Nomenclature</i>]] s.v. <i>Sunlending</i>, [[The Lord of the Rings: Reader's Companion|Reader's Companion]], p. 776).

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{{kingdom

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| image =[[File:Mark Fisher - Anorien.png|250px]]

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| name = Anórien

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| meaning = Sun-land

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| type = Fiefdom

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| hidep=yes

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| headofstate = [[King of Gondor]]

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| executive =

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| legislative =

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| judicial =

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| capital = [[Minas Anor]]

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| language = [[Gondor Sindarin]], [[Westron]]

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| location = Between [[Calenardhon]] and the [[White Mountains]]

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| populace= [[Gondorians]] and [[Druedain]]

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| currency =

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| religious =

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| holiday =

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| anthem =

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| formed = The distribution of the two fiefs between [[Anarion]] and [[Isildur]]

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|establshed = c. {{SA|3320}}

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| reorganized =

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| fragmented =

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| dissolved =

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| restored =

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}}'''Anórien''' was a region and fiefdom of [[Gondor]].

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==History==

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During the [[Elder Days]], the region was occupied by [[Pre-Númenóreans]].<ref>{{UT|Cirion}}</ref> These were separated relatives of the [[House of Haleth]] while the [[Edain]] migrated to the west during the [[First Age]]. The [[Woses]] fled to the forests of that region, hunted by the [[Men of Darkness]].<ref>{{UT|Druedain}}</ref>

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Anórien lay north of [[Minas Tirith]] and the line of the [[White Mountains]], and was the only part of the northern half of the realm, [[Calenardhon]], which was not given to the [[Éothéod]] to become the Kingdom of [[Rohan]].

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At the end of the [[Second Age]], the region was given to [[Anárion]] as part of the [[Realms in Exile]] and was named 'Anórien' after him. Anárion built [[Minas Anor]] on [[Amon Tirith]] of the [[Mindolluin]].

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Anórien formed a narrow strip of land consisting of the valleys of the [[White Mountains]], and its borders were the [[Mering Stream]] in the west, and the Mouths of the [[Entwash]] in the north. Its eastern border was the border of [[Gondor]] at the [[Anduin]].

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In the [[Third Age]], as the [[Great Plague]] spread, cities were evacuated and many fled to [[Ithilien]] and Anórien.

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No cities were in Anórien, but following the line of the [[North-South Road]] that led through [[Rohan]] to [[Arnor]] were built the [[Warning beacons of Gondor]].

During the [[War of the Ring]], when [[Sauron]] released a secondary force from the [[Morannon]], they overwhelmed the defenders of [[Cair Andros]], and used the island to cross into Anórien. They blocked the eastward progress of the [[Rohirrim]] as they rode to Gondor's aid, though after the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], [[Elfhelm]] chased them down and pushed them back out of Anórien.

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[[Category:Regions]]

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==Geography==

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Anórien lay north of the line of the [[White Mountains]], and formed a narrow strip of land consisting of the valleys of the [[White Mountains]], and its borders were the [[Mering Stream]] in the west, and the Mouths of the [[Entwash]] in the north. Its eastern border was the border of [[Gondor]] at the [[Anduin]].

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After [[Calenardhon]] was given to the [[Éothéod]] to become the Kingdom of [[Rohan]], Anórien remained as the only part of the northern half of the realm.

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The [[Greenway]] road traversed the fief.

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Except Minas Anor, no cities were in Anórien, but following the line of the [[North-South Road]] that led through [[Rohan]] to [[Arnor]] were built the [[Warning beacons of Gondor]].

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==Etymology==

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The name is [[Sindarin]] for 'Sun-land'; ''[[Sun|Anor]]'' "sun" and ''[[-ien]]'' place name suffix. Called [[Sunlending]] by the [[Rohirrim]].

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The name does not refer to the [[Sun]] or the climate, but is 'heraldic', related to the name and the emblem of [[Anárion]], son of [[Elendil]]: the land is immediately attached to the [[Minas Anor]].<ref name="Nomen">{{HM|N}}, p. 776</ref>